Starting a new chapter in life

When I arrived at the post office, I was still worried about what would happen if my car got stolen. While I was still hesitating, I heard someone behind me say, "Are you here to pick up a package? You're pretty quick."

Looking back, she saw the postman who had delivered the parcel slip to her earlier pushing his bicycle into the post office. He locked the bike in the shed, slung the mailbag over his shoulder, and held out his hand to her: "If your bike is left here unattended, it might be gone when you come out. Although the security here is pretty good, it's still risky to leave it lying around like this. Give me the parcel slip, and I'll get it for you. You can watch the bike here."

Jingyan was pleasantly surprised and quickly handed him the form, saying, "Then I'll trouble you, comrade."

The postman waved his hand: "It's no trouble at all. If the package hadn't been so big, I would have brought it over earlier."

He entered the post office and soon came out carrying three large packages in his arms and shoulders. Jingyan quickly stepped forward to take one of them. After putting all three packages on the vehicle, the postman said, "Here you go, this is the return receipt. All three packages are complete. You can go back now."

Jing Yan thanked him repeatedly. The postman had already turned and gone back. Looking at the three large packages on the cart, Jing Yan sighed, resignedly pushed the cart home, threw the things inside the gate, closed the gate, and went to knock on the door next door. The woman next door quickly came and opened the door. She was a little surprised to see Jing Yan returning the cart: "You've used it up so quickly?"

Jing Yan nodded: "Yes, I've used it all. Thank you so much, comrade. If I hadn't borrowed the car, I really wouldn't have been able to bring the things back this time."

The woman casually waved her hand, "It's nothing, just a small favor." After saying that, she opened the door wide. Jingyan pushed the car back to its original position and hurried out. The woman smiled and closed the door behind her.

Jingyan returned home and dragged the packages into the house one by one. She folded the bedding and put it in the closet according to thickness, and folded the clothes according to the season and put them in the wardrobe. She was exhausted after tidying up. Sure enough, she was becoming more and more lazy.

After being busy at home for several days, I finally got the sauerkraut into the jar and it was the weekend. I remembered that He Zhijun said we get a break about every two weeks, and tomorrow was the weekend, so I got out of bed early in the morning, boiled two sweet potatoes to eat, and took the last three catties of meat coupons and five yuan to leave early.

When they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, a crowd had already gathered at the meat stall. The pork seller asked how much she wanted, and his cut was surprisingly accurate. Finally, it was Jingyan's turn. The seller asked, "How much? Fat or lean?"

"Three catties of pork belly, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat."

A piece of meat was cut off, weighed, and found to be exactly the right amount. "Three jin of meat coupons, two yuan and fifty cents," Jingyan paid, tossed the meat into her basket, squeezed out, and bought a bottle of Beidahuang liquor in the tobacco and alcohol section for one yuan and thirty cents. After paying, she felt the one yuan and twenty cents left in her pocket and sighed softly, "Money never seems to last!"

Back home, I pondered how to cook the meat. He Zhijun should be back tonight, and then return to his unit tomorrow night or the day after. This meat would last for at least three meals. With a swift movement, I cut the meat into three pieces, one piece per meal—perfect!

I mixed some dough in a bowl, kneaded it, and let it rest for a while before rolling out noodles. I chopped some meat, minced it, chopped two green peppers, and cut a section of scallion. I heated oil in a wok, added minced ginger, then added the minced meat and stir-fried it until it changed color. I then added a little white wine and stir-fried it until fragrant. I added the peppers and stir-fried them for a couple of seconds. I scooped up some soybean paste, added some water, and simmered it to make a sauce. I then served the meat sauce.

Once the dough has rested enough, knead it well, roll it out into a thin sheet, fold it several times, cut it into thin strips, sprinkle some dry flour, shake the noodles to separate them, cook them in boiling water for three or four minutes, then mix them with meat sauce. In short, it's delicious!

Being idle at home was indeed a bit boring. Jingyan remembered that she had learned to knit sweaters from her fourth sister. Although her skills weren't great, she should be able to knit ordinary diamond patterns... right?

When she got married, her mother-in-law gave her five or six pounds of yarn. This time, her fourth sister mailed it over as well. If she didn't waste it, it should be enough for two sweaters. Why not knit a sweater for He Zhijun to practice? And then knit one for herself too. Hmm, she thought, and immediately started working on it. She dug out the yarn and knitting needles from the cupboard and started casting on. Wait, what did her fourth sister say about how many stitches an adult should cast on? Three hundred and forty or three hundred and eighty? Jingyan really couldn't remember. "Never mind, I'll just use the more. It's better to be a little loose than too tight." Jingyan readily cast on three hundred and eighty stitches.

The knitting needles must be pressed with consistent force so that the knitted sweater will be flat and the pattern will be symmetrical. But this was too difficult for Jingyan. She would knit the ones that were close enough, but if they were far from perfect or she missed a stitch, she would unravel them and start over. By the time Jingyan finally finished knitting the waistline, it was already dark.

Jingyan rubbed her neck, glanced at her watch, and exclaimed in surprise, "My God, it's already four o'clock!" She quickly threw her knitting needles on the kang (a heated brick bed), slipped on her shoes, and went to unlock the front door before going back inside to prepare dinner. She washed the rice and put it in the steamer to steam. She washed the cabbage, cut it into slices, separating the stalks from the leaves. She cut the pork belly into seven or eight thin slices, and the rest into strips about the thickness of chopsticks.

I peeled and cut two potatoes into chunks, then prepared the seasonings: dried chili peppers, scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, rock sugar, soy sauce, and salt. Seeing that the rice in the steamer was almost cooked, I switched to a frying pan and stir-fried some spicy and sour cabbage, then made a pork belly stew with potatoes. Done!

Jingyan was busy in the kitchen, completely unaware that He Zhijun, who had already entered the house, was leaning against the door frame watching her. He had been working very hard lately, and his mind had been on edge. Now, seeing his wife bustling around, his tense nerves seemed to relax a lot.

The pork belly strips were well-seasoned, and when they were half-cooked, Jingyan finally threw the potatoes into the pot. She finally had a moment to stand up straight, and when she looked up, she saw He Zhijun by the door. She smiled and said, "When did you get back? Why didn't you say anything?"

He Zhijun entered the kitchen. "I just got back a little while ago. I saw you busy seasoning the meat and chopping cabbage, so I didn't disturb you. After you finish this dish, are you going to stir-fry the cabbage? I'll make that dish."

Jingyan shook her head: "Have you been very tired lately? You've got dark circles under your eyes. Go inside and take a nap. After this dish is ready, the next one I'll make is hot and sour cabbage. Although my cooking skills aren't great, it's still edible. I'm quite relaxed at home. When we all get busy and you come back, you'll have to do chores. After all, I'm not a very hardworking person. Go on, go get some sleep."

Jingyan pushed him into the bedroom, made him take off his clothes, and found him a set of shirt and trousers, handing them to him: "You'll sleep more comfortably if you change into these. I'll call you when dinner is ready. The room will warm up in a little while, so you won't get cold wearing these."

He Zhijun actually felt that he was in good spirits, but seeing how worried she was about him, he couldn't bear to go against her wishes. He obediently changed his clothes and lay down in bed. Sure enough, with the thick mattress and the blankets warm and cozy, he lay down, closed his eyes, and fell asleep without realizing it.

Jingyan sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and watched him for a while. When she heard his breathing become even, she tiptoed out of the bedroom and went to the kitchen. She wasn't sure what she was doing, so she felt more at ease standing by the pot to make sure it didn't burn.

By the time the food was ready, it was already seven o'clock. Three hours to cook and half an hour to eat—this was really not cost-effective. I complained inwardly, but I still filled a kettle with tap water and put it on the stove to heat up. I could drink it or use it for washing up later.

After bringing the food to the dining table in the living room and entering the room, I turned on the light. Before I could even call out to anyone, He Zhijun had already slowly woken up. He squinted to adjust to the brightness, raised his hand to look at his watch, and said, "It's already seven o'clock. I've been sleeping for about an hour."

"Almost done, the food is ready. Get up, wash your hands, and eat." Jingyan said before leaving to go to the kitchen to serve the rice and pick up the chopsticks.

He Zhijun washed his hands, and Jing Yan was already sitting at the table, ready to serve. After he sat down, Jing Yan glanced at him and said, "You look much better now. Let's eat. Try it and see if you can get used to it." She then picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of pork belly, put it on her rice, and ate a bite. "Hmm, it tastes alright, a little salty but good for eating with rice," Jing Yan reassured herself.

He Zhijun also took a bite and nodded: "Jingyan's cooking is pretty good, it's delicious."

Jingyan... well, this person doesn't care much about food and drink, and this is still considered good skill, so it's pretty good.

After dinner, He Zhijun stopped Jingyan, who was about to wash the dishes, and said, "You cooked, I'll wash the dishes."

Jingyan sat down with his help and smiled when she heard his words: "Then we'll share the housework from now on?"

“I’ve been in the military all this time. I’ll do the housework whenever I come home. If we go back to Yangzhou in the future, I’m going to transfer to civilian work. Then I can come home every day after get off work. But I guess you won’t have much of an easy time then.”

"why?"

"Because you'll be around 23 or 24 at that time, and it'll be time to have a child. Pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare are all very demanding for women. But I promise you here that as the father of the child and a member of the family, I won't let you suffer alone, although I may not be able to help much."

He Zhijun's words moved Jing Yan: "As long as you are willing to share the burden with me, even if it is tiring, at least you will feel fulfilled. What I fear most are those men nowadays who consider themselves the head of the household and shirk all their responsibilities, big or small. That kind of life is the most tiring, both mentally and physically."

He Zhijun laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm not one to talk big. Actions speak louder than words. Just watch. If you have any complaints about me in the future, just tell me directly and I will improve. If one day I fail to keep this promise, you are free to scold or beat me as you please."

"You'll let me hit and scold you, and you won't fight back?" Jing Yan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We won't fight back when hit, and we won't talk back when insulted." He Zhijun said firmly.

"Alright, let's wait and see. It's too early to say anything now. If we can make it to the end, when we're old and gray, I'll tell you whether I have no regrets or whether I'm happy in this life. If we drift apart one day, then... may we each find our own peace!" Jingyan looked at him intently.

He Zhijun's eyes didn't waver at all: "Okay, it's a deal!"

Seeing that he had gone to tidy up, Jingyan went to the bedroom to take the knitted sweater with the hem to the living room, sat on the sofa and started continuing. When He Zhijun came back after tidying up the kitchen, he saw her looking very serious.

He sat down next to her and asked, "What are you knitting?"

I'm going to knit you a sweater.

"You can knit sweaters?" He Zhijun was quite surprised.

"Hmm... I've been learning from my fourth sister for two days, and I haven't finished a piece yet. This is your first one. You won't dislike how well I knitted it and refuse to wear it, will you?" Jingyan was very confident in herself.

“No, I’ll wear anything you knit. I’m not picky about clothes, so knit whatever you like.” He Zhijun’s emotional appeal was off the charts.

Jingyan finally looked up at him and said, "You said it, right? Perfect, let me compare. It shouldn't be too thin." After saying that, she stretched the edge of the waist and compared it to He Zhijun's waist. She was very satisfied and said, "I have to say, although this is the first time I've done it myself, the size is really right."

He Zhijun's smile was a bit silly.

Around nine o'clock, the two turned off the lights and went to sleep, and by the way... absence makes the heart grow fonder.

The next morning, when Jingyan woke up, He Zhijun was already up and sweeping the living room. He smiled at her and said, "I've already lit the stove. I'll get you some water to wash up first, and I'll make breakfast."

Jingyan smiled at him and said, "Yes, you're so nice."

He Zhijun smiled and soon filled the basin with water and placed it on the basin stand by the living room door. After Jingyan finished washing up, He Zhijun brought in breakfast: "Jingyan, I saw there are still two bundles of noodles in the cupboard. Let's have noodles for breakfast this morning."

Jingyan sat down at the table and saw two boiled eggs on a plate, as well as a bowl of noodles with cabbage leaves at the bottom. She smiled and said, "You made so much?"

He Zhijun scratched his head: "Well, I have a big appetite, so I only cooked half a bundle of noodles. Who knew it would turn out this much after it was cooked."

"Hmm, dried noodles seem to come in a larger portion than hand-pulled noodles." She ladled out a bowl, picked up a mouthful of noodles, and tasted them. To her surprise, they tasted quite good. She nodded, swallowed the noodles, and looked into He Zhijun's expectant eyes. "It's really delicious."

He Zhijun smiled, his eyes crinkling. He lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly and started eating his noodles. After a couple of bites, he remembered something, looked up, and said, "I saw two big barrels of oil in the cupboard. Where did all that come from? We don't have that many oil coupons. You didn't go to the black market, did you?"

Jingyan shook her head: "No, a few days ago there was a big market here. On the way back from the market with Sister Gao, we met a woman who was going to sell soybean oil at the market. Her family grows soybeans on reclaimed land in the 13th Company. After processing them at the company's oil press, she was thinking of selling them at the market."

But that place was far from the market, and we arrived late just in time to find that they only had four buckets left. I figured the produce wouldn't spoil, so Gao Jie and I each bought two buckets. From now on, if I want to buy any agricultural products, I'll just go to Sister He in the 13th Company. Their company usually has everything, and it's safe there too.”